Jon Paepcke

3 days ago | wvtm13.com | Jon Paepcke

With less than a week to spare, Birmingham City Council approved a record $591 million budget Tuesday morning. Some of the highlights include $15 million for street paving, $3 million to cut overgrown lots, $1 million for new police vehicles, more than $6 million to fund a handful of youth programs, plus $16.5 million for transit. Of the transit cash, two-thirds will help fund the MAX bus system.

4 days ago | wvtm13.com | Jon Paepcke

POLICE TOOK HIM IN FOR QUESTIONING. WORK TO RESHAPE A CLOSED SCHOOL NEAR THE COCA-COLA AMPHITHEATER IS RAMPING UP. ASBESTOS REMOVAL IN THE OLD MCARTHUR SCHOOL KICKED OFF OVER THE WEEKEND. WVTM 13 S JON PAEPCKE UPDATES US ON THE FUTURE OF THE FORMER CAMPUS. CHARLIE WILLIAMS SPENT EIGHT YEARS AT MCARTHUR SCHOOL. BUT AFTER IT CLOSED IN 1997, THE CAMPUS SLOWLY BECAME A DRUID HILLS EYESORE. THE ILLICIT ACTIVITY, PARTICULARLY THE GRAFFITI AND WHAT HAVE YOU, THE BROKEN WINDOWS.

1 week ago | wvtm13.com | Jon Paepcke

Urban Alchemy is tasked with helping Birmingham residents coping with homelessness get back on their feet. At a recent resource fair at East Lake United Methodist Church, their ‘No F***ery theme, with a certain four-letter f-bomb, was on full display. “There are a lot people upset about the audacity of a city-funded group who would come to a church and set up a sign and a tent with the f-word written across it,” Birmingham City Councilor Hunter Williams said.

1 week ago | wvtm13.com | Jon Paepcke

With just days left before the Coca-Cola Amphitheater's first show, we joined BJCC Executive Director Tad Snider on the brand-new Uptown Jam Tram. The shuttle system will taxi concertgoers from Protective Stadium to the 9,100-seat venue. “It's three blocks. There are four vehicles we imagine, you know, every ten minutes there'll be a vehicle leaving for sure,” Snider said. Guests will hop on near the southeast corner of the stadium for the short drive north.

2 weeks ago | wvtm13.com | Jon Paepcke

Jeremiah Snider has worked at the Red Cat Coffee House across from Railroad Park for nearly a decade. He says the award-winning public space has helped boost their business. “Pretty well. Lots of foot traffic, lots of foot traffic,” Snider said. Before its opening, the Birmingham Park property was an empty four-block lot in the city's aging warehouse district. A lot has changed since 2010. Thursday, the park's foundation held a special luncheon to celebrate the public space's impact.